An aircraft is typically subdivided into two or more compartments separated by structures, e.g., walls, bulkheads, floors, etc. During flight, these compartments are positively pressurized relative to the atmospheric pressure outside the aircraft. If an opening is created between one compartment and the exterior atmosphere, the pressure difference causes a sudden exodus of interior aircraft air. As air is rushing out the opening, an almost immediate propagation of the pressure difference causes the other compartments to also attempt to decompress.
To accommodate this chain reaction of pressure differences, it is often necessary to provide decompression panels between compartments to quickly equalize the pressure differential. A difference in pressure between compartments that is not relieved rapidly could lead to deformation of a separation structure and/or surrounding components. Known decompression panels have a sandwich type construction in which a pressure relief panel is released to fully reveal an opening through the separation structure. This allows air to quickly pass therethrough and quickly relieve the pressure difference. These types of decompression panels are sometimes referred to as full release blowout panels.
There are other aircraft requirements, however, that must be considered along with the requirement to allow air to pass between compartments during decompression. In particular, some aircraft compartments rely on oxygen suffocation to extinguish fires. This requires the separation structures to act as oxygen-tight fire barriers which do not allow fire or oxygen to pass through them. In such cases, it would be advantageous to use a pressure relief panel that could quickly allow pressure equalization between compartments during a rapid decompression event, but would otherwise resist the spread of fire between compartments. This present invention is directed to providing such a panel.